Immigration will be a "hot button" issue in the upcoming presidential election. This article provides an example dialogue on how we, as moderate and progressive Christians, might dialogue with our more conservative brothers and sisters in Christ about an earned citizenship legalization path for the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants now residing in this country. In this article, Peter Wong weaves the dialogue with facts, statistics, and the teachings of Jesus.

 

EARNED CITIZENSHIP: A DIALOGUE WITH THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT

By

Peter Wong[1]

 

1. INTRODUCTION

 

This article provides an Example Dialogue on how we, as moderate and progressive Christians, might effectively talk with our more conservative brothers and sisters in Christ ("Christian Right") about an earned citizenship legalization path for the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants now residing in this country, while leaving each other whole and with goodwill at the end of the discussion.

The Example Dialogue below addresses the following objections to earned citizenship: (1) It would reward law breakers; (2) Keeping undocumented immigrants in their legal "limbo" status outside the law is just punishment for their breaking the law; and (3) It would encourage others to enter this country illegally in hopes of later gaining citizenship.

The Example Dialogue is excerpted from the author's syllabus entitled: Let's Dialogue With The Christian Right-A syllabus of strategies, moral values, and Biblical citations (hereafter referred to as "Syllabus"). The Syllabus explains the underlying framework, rationale, and strategy in dialoguing with a member of the Christian Right on "hot button" topics such as abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and global warming.[2] The Syllabus is intended to stimulate discussion and additional research on how to dialogue with the Christian Right, and is suitable for use in workshops and small group discussions. The Syllabus will be available for free downloads from www.micahscall.org in 2008. The anticipated table of contents is in the Appendix.

 

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